Nurse completes challenging trek

Nurse completes challenging trek

A Benenden Hospital nurse has raised more than £9,000 for charity by taking part in a Grand Canyon trek.

Kate Minett raised the money for Pancreatic Cancer UK in memory of her husband Dr Nigel Minett who was Maidstone GP. Dr Minett died from pancreatic cancer in 2012.

Mrs Minett funded the trip herself so that all money raised from sponsorship and fundraising activities would go to research, to raising awareness and to helping support those with the disease.

She travelled with a group of 20 people ranging in age from 23 to 78, all of whom had been affected by the loss of a loved one to pancreatic cancer.

The Trek Together Grand Canyon Challenge included training walks in Arizona and Utah in preparation for an eight mile hike which was a timed assent of a popular trail to Observation Point in Zion National Park. Walks also included visits to Cathedral Rock in Sedona National Park, Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon.

Day time temperatures reached as high as the mid 30s and night time (under canvas) was as low as –3. Along the way Mrs Minett came across rattlesnakes, birds of prey, deer, chipmunks and giant stick insects.

She said: “It was amazing, exhausting, exhilarating and emotional. It is difficult to find the words to truly describe the experience. I hiked with a wonderful team of exceptional human beings, all sadly touched by this dreadful cancer. There were so many sad stories but hope prevailed.

“Thank you to those who took the time to contribute to my fundraising activities or have visited my Just Giving page. I am truly overwhelmed by your generosity. I am still collecting sponsor money if others would still like to contribute.”